


Cities

by shonn



Category: Wicked RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22202653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shonn/pseuds/shonn
Summary: A/N: This story is mostly dialog, which is not the format I usually use. However, I pictured this conversation as flashes in my mind, focusing on the words instead of the actions. I can only hope it reads the way it sounds in my head.
Relationships: Kristin Chenoweth/Idina Menzel
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	1. Spring in New York

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rysler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rysler/gifts).



> A/N: This story is mostly dialog, which is not the format I usually use. However, I pictured this conversation as flashes in my mind, focusing on the words instead of the actions. I can only hope it reads the way it sounds in my head.

"Yes?"

Kristin had tried not to sound aggravated as she responded to the buzzer. After all, Jack, the doorman, did not deserve her irritation. But, she thought, he better have a good reason for interrupting her one night off.

"Miss Chenoweth," he began timidly. She winced. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but you have a visitor."

She frowned even though he couldn’t see her. "A visitor?" She looked around as if the walls had been expecting company and had neglected to tell her.

"Miss Chenoweth?"

Jack's voice sounded even smaller, but it was enough to snap her attention back to the situation at hand.

"I'm sorry, Jack. Do you know who it is?"

She mentally berated herself. Of course he would know. It was his job to know. But the silence lingered. She was about to call him again when his whispered voice answered her almost-forgotten question.

"It's, uh, it's her."

"Her?" Before she could go any further, a memory surfaced, and before she could change her mind, she said, "Let her up."

Kristin unlocked her door and retreated to the kitchen. Until being interrupted, she had been reading and writing letters at the table, and she busied herself cleaning up her work. A long moment later, she heard a tentative knock, and then the front door opened. Footsteps echoed through the quiet apartment. 

Even though her back was to the kitchen entryway, Kristin knew the instant her visitor had arrived.

"Old habit," Idina said, her voice as familiar as the words. "Although I used to be able to bypass the doorman as well."

"Some things change and some don't," Kristin said.

She was putting letters in envelopes, trying to clear off the table. Idina moved to stand beside her, picking up a pink piece of paper and reading the message.

"I am your biggest fan, and I wish you could move to Ohio to live with me."

"She's eight and thinks I'm magical."

"You are."

Idina returned the letter to its stack and frowned at the glitter which stuck to her fingers. Kristin laughed, sounding nothing like Glinda.

"You never did like the glitter. Always preferred the green paint that could ruin a perfectly good outfit if we weren't careful."

"We did occasionally struggle with our patience," Idina agreed.

Kristin glanced at her. 

"Among other things."

They shared a smile before Idina looked away.

*********

"Why are you here?"

In the silence of the kitchen, Idina contemplated Kristin's question, hearing nothing but curiosity in her voice.

"I was lying in bed the other night, flipping through channels, when I came across an interview you were doing with Conan O'Brien. It was stupid of me to watch, but you're hard to ignore."

They shared another smile. "I always was your weakness."

"You still are." A pause. "Anyway, I saw you and had to watch. You were promoting RV and were being you so perfectly that for a moment I forgot I wasn't alone in the apartment."

"Taye."

Idina nodded. "He came in and was so quiet I didn't even hear him. Or maybe he made noise. I don't know. I was too engrossed watching you to notice anything else."

"What did he do?"

"What he always does: read my mind, tried to make me feel better. He said if I missed you so much, I should call you, find out how you're doing."

"Instead, you came here."

"We've always been better in person, Kris. You know that."

"Are you sure this is what he wanted?"

"No. He would prefer we never see each other again."

"He's such a sweet guy."

The comment was flippant, but they both understood it to be true. Even when he was being a jerk, it wasn't hard to admit to his good qualities.

*********

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"

"I honestly don't know. I..."

Idina sighed, her explanation dying before becoming fully developed. Another silence settled on them, and Idina twirled her spoon in the cooling tea in front of her, looking for an answer in the peppermint-flavored depths.

"We were best friends, Kris, and then suddenly we weren't. What happened?"

"You know what happened."

"No, I don't. I should, I admit that, but I don't. I got angry, and you left. That's all I remember."

"You've never lied to me in the past, Idina Menzel, so don't start now. You know as well as I do that you remember much more than that."

"We fought because _you_ lied to _me_."

"I did not lie to you. I withheld information because I knew that information would hurt you. I was trying to protect you."

"By leaving?"

"Yes. I was trying to protect both of us."

"You only succeeded in making things worse. I lost you, the show lost ratings, and Taye lost me. No one _gained_ anything."

"You've always been a pessimist. You're still married, and the show is still playing. I heard you're even going to London to play Elphaba. Things cannot possibly be as bad as you think they are." 

"I'm thinking of going to London to get away from Taye."

"You're running?"

"What? You think you have the patent?"

"Stop being snippy and tell me what's going on."

*********

"I made a mistake," Idina said. 

Kristin made no acknowledgement of the comment, focusing, instead, on her tabletop where drops of glitter made unusual patterns against the wood.

"It wasn't that marrying him was a mistake. I did love him but always more as a friend than anything else, and he could make me feel unbelievable when he wanted to. No, my mistake wasn't that I married him. My mistake was thinking I had to stay married to him after I realized I didn't love him the way I needed to." Idina took a deep breath. "I think he knew it. I think it's why he..."

She let the end of her sentence disappear into the silence.

*********

"Dee, about what happened..."

"It's in the past. Let's just forget about it, okay?"

"I can't. You didn't believe me."

"I did believe you. That was the problem. I had heard the rumors before but never believed them. But you... _you_ I had to believe. I knew you wouldn't lie to me."

"You just accused me of it."

"This was before I thought you had lied to me about why you left."

"You said I flounced, that I encouraged his advances."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I knew it wasn't your fault. He hit on a lot of girls the first few years of our marriage."

"Gee, thanks."

Dee laughed. "He noticed you, but how could he not? Everyone notices you. You're beautiful and vibrant and talented, and I was a fool for ever letting you go."

"I was never yours."

"Yes, you were, just like I've belonged to you since the first time we sang together. Just because we've never been lovers doesn't mean we lacked the desire to be."

"When did you get so emotionally bold?"

"When I realized it was the only way to get you back."

"You're still married."

"Tell me there"s a chance for us and I won't be married for long."

"It's not an either/or decision, Idina. You can't have me just because you know you can. What about Taye?"

"Taye was the reason you left me the first time. I don't think his feelings should matter much."

"But they do. You were so angry at me before over something you knew I had no control over that you blamed me because you didn't want to blame him. You loved him enough to protect him at the cost of our friendship. That has to mean something."

"It means I was confused. I didn't know what to do, so I did what I thought I should. I stayed with my husband, and before I could figure out what was happening, you were gone."

"So, it's my fault we didn't talk for two years?"

*********

"I wish you had at least emailed me after you left. I felt a little abandoned," Idina said.

"I know. You told me you would before I left the theater that night."

"I thought you would stay in touch if I was honest with you."

"It just made it all worse."

"Did you miss me?"

"Every day."

"You could have called."

"Dee, I knew I couldn't talk to you, not even in email."

"Why?"

"Because you could talk me into most anything."

"I couldn't talk you into staying."

"You didn't try."

"I did, Kris. That night on stage, I asked you to stay with me."

*********

"You're going to London?" Kristin asked.

"Why are you back in New York?"

"How did you know?"

"Michelle. Why are you back?"

"I live here."

"You live in L.A.," Idina said sarcastically.

"I stay in L.A. when I'm working there. I live here. You're going to London?"

"You're _staying_ there more than _living_ here lately, so why are you back?"

"I missed cheese fries. Answer my question, Dee."

"As soon as you answer mine."

Kristin sighed. "I'm doing a show, _The Apple Tree_."

"When does it start?"

"In November."

"After I'm gone." Idina sounded resigned.

"So you are going to London?"

"You knew the answer."

"I knew the rumor."

"Were you asked?"

"Not directly."

"Would you have signed on?"

"No."

"Not even to be my Glinda?"

"Not even to be your Kristin."

*********

"When I get back, we'll talk?"

"We'll talk while you're away," Kristin said, picking up the tea mugs and putting them in the sink.

"Will you come see me?" Idina asked to Kristin's back.

"I'll try."

"Is that the best I'll get?"

Kristin sat back down across from Idina. "That's the best I can give."

*********

"Why does this have to be a challenge? Haven't we been through enough?"

"You need to figure out what you want."

"I know what I want."

"You know what you gave up, and you want it back. It's not the same thing. And, now, you want even more. You don't get to decide that after seeing me on television."

"You're going to make me wait for you."

"I think it's best we take our time adjusting to the idea of having more than just a play between us."

"There was always more."

Kristin smiled. "Yet, we lost each other when we no longer had the play."

"Good point," Idina said, waiting a long moment before asking, "Will you wait for me?"

"When you get home, we'll decide where to go from there."

"But you'll wait for me?"

"I've never stopped."


	2. London Bridges

Kristin smiled at her costars as she made her way to her dressing room. It was their last show before Christmas, and they had spent more time on stage taking bows and saying goodbye to the audience than usual. All she really wanted to do was take a shower and go home, but there was a party to celebrate the holidays. She knew she had to at least make an appearance.

"Kris! Hey, Kristin!"

Kristin stopped, her hand on her dressing room doorknob. She forced a smile as she turned to Marc. 

"What's up?" she asked. 

"Need a ride?"

She shook her head. "I don't know how long I'll be. You go ahead."

"Are you sure? I can wait."

"No, that's okay. I have a phone call to make, so I'll just meet you there."

He laughed and said, "Must be someone pretty important for you to be late to a party."

Kristin smiled. "She is," she said to his retreating form.

*********

"You're here." Kristin's surprise kept her in one spot, her eyes on Idina's watery grin.

"You were fantastic."

The words propelled Kristin forward. She stopped in front of Idina and reached to caress Idina's cheek, wiping away the other woman's tears.

"You're crying."

"You were fantastic," Idina repeated and laughed. 

"It's not a sad show."

"Tonight was the first time I've seen you perform on stage since you left _Wicked_."

Kristin's hand fell to her side, and she shrugged, not trusting herself to touch Idina again. "And it was that bad?" Turning from Idina, she began taking off her costume one piece at a time. She watched Idina in the mirror on her dressing table. 

"You know the truth, Kris."

"What are you doing here? I didn't think you were scheduled to come home for two more weeks."

"I wasn't. I'm not. I wanted to see your show."

"You flew halfway around the world."

"So will you next week." Idina took a step toward her. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"I haven't."

"Good," Idina said as she took another step forward. "Because I want to show you London and I want you to meet the cast and I want to be my best."

"You're always your best on stage. You don't know how to be otherwise."

"I think you're talking about yourself."

"You like your cast mates?"

"You know I do."

"I'd like to meet your Glinda."

"You're my Glinda, but I know Helen will be pleased to meet you."

Kristin's smile was sweet but sad. "I'm really glad things have been going so well."

"If that was coming from anyone else, I wouldn't believe it, but I know you. You're too considerate for your own good."

"You want me to be jealous?"

"Am I ever going to get to kiss you?"

"I'm not jealous, Idina, because we're not characters in a show. Are you sleeping with her?"

"Of course not. You didn't answer my question."

"Depends. Do you want to kiss Kristin or Glinda?"

Idina sighed. "We've had this argument."

"I have to be sure."

"You are sure, Kris." Idina met Kristin's eyes in the mirror. "Your fear is showing."

*********

"I'm happy to see you," Kristin said suddenly.

"I'm glad to hear it. I was beginning to wonder."

Kristin turned toward to her. "I _have_ missed you. You know I have." She took off her earrings, tilting her head and watching Idina move closer, stopping a few steps away.

"You have a party to go to."

"Come with me."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. Your divorce is final, isn't it?"

"So you're going to show me off?" Idina asked, a grin slowly appearing. 

"Well, I don't suppose we'll be making out in the corner, but it wouldn't hurt to be seen together. People should, at the very least, know we're still friends."

*********

From her seat on the couch, Idina watched Kristin pull clothes from her closet.

"Are you sure you want me to go? I could wait for you at your apartment." Kristin stopped what she was doing and turned to stare at Idina. "What?!" Idina asked after a few minutes.

Kristin shook her head and put the blouses she held in her hand back in the closet. She reached for a red baby doll T-shirt with a reindeer on it and a pair of jeans Idina recognized from a shopping trip during their Wicked days.

"I'm going to take a shower, and then **we're** going to a party."

"Kris, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you. It's just that you've barely acknowledged me since you found me here. I feel like I've done something wrong but I don't know what."

Kristin looked away from her but sat down on the couch next to her. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault, and you haven't done anything wrong." Kristin laughed softly. "Actually, you did something incredibly sweet."

"So, what's the problem?"

"This is real now."

"What? Us?"

Kristin glanced her, and then she stood, her back to Idina. "Yeah. I mean, I knew it was coming, but now it's here."

"Are you." Idina took a deep breath. " _Do_ you have doubts?"

"That's just it," Kristin said as she turned. "I don't, and you know I don't. You said so yourself."

"Then what's the problem?" Idina asked as she stood.

*********

"I'm afraid."

"I know. But of what?"

Kristin laughed and looked away from Idina. "Getting everything I want."

*********

"You want me?" Idina asked.

Again, Kristin laughed. "For so long I barely remember when I didn't."

"Then, I think you should know I'm afraid, too."

"Of me?” Kristin asked, surprise stretched across her face as she met Idina's gaze. "But you're the one who came to me."

Idina nodded. "And I was terrified I wouldn't be able to get through to you. And then, I was terrified you would change your mind. I was terrified on the plane ride here that you wouldn't want me to be here." Idina sighed and began pacing. "I'm not afraid of getting everything I've ever wanted, Kris. I'm afraid of losing it." 

*********

"I love you."

The words stilled Idina. She stared at Kristin so hard and for so long she was sure she was looking straight through the shorter woman.

"I've told you those words every night for six months," Idina finally said. "I never thought I'd hear you say them back to me."

"I couldn't. Not until you were standing in front of me."

"Kristin."

"I love you, Idina. I...I can't imagine walking away from you again. It was almost too hard the first time. I..." Kristin took a deep breathe, letting it out slowly and then smiling. "I love you."

Idina matched Kristin's smile with one of her own and finally made her way over to where Kristin was standing. Reaching out, she mimicked Kristin's move from earlier, wiping away the tears the blonde didn't even realize were there. Dipping her head, she slowly and gently touched her lips to Kristin's before pulling away and resting her forehead against the shorter woman's. "I love you, too."


End file.
